"9 for 90" ticket - to relieve the burden on citizens and promote public transport

By project DEMO-EC

Published on 27 September 2022

Germany

About this good practice

The COVID 19 pandemic has led to considerable financial disadvantages in local public transport (LPT). Due to the persistence of the COVID 19 pandemic, a decline in fare revenues and correspondingly high burdens on the sector are also expected in 2022. Russia's attack on Ukraine in violation of international law has drastically exacerbated the already tense situation on the energy markets. The sharply rising costs for electricity, food, heating and mobility have become a major burden for many citizens. In order to cushion these burdens in the short term, the governing coalition put together a relief package at the end of March, which includes, among other things, a discounted public transport ticket for three months. In addition to relieving the financial burden on citizens, the measure is intended to an incentive to switch to local public transport and to save energy. For the period from June to August 2022, a fare will be offered that allows the use of local public transport for a fee of 9 euros per calendar month. The implementation of the 9-Euro-Ticket is the responsibility of the states, with the Federal Government providing a lump sum for this purpose to compensate for all associated costs.

Resources needed

For the Federal Government, this results in a budgetary burden of tax revenue shortfalls totalling 3.7 billion euros for the year 2022.

Evidence of success

There were sold more than 52 Million tickets in the time of the duration as well as 10 subscriptions that were reduced in cost to 9 Euros a month. A frist evaluation shows first results: 17 % of users switched from other means of transport such as car, bicycle, etc. to public transport in August. 10 % of users did not do at least one of their daily car trips (June: 8 percent). Through this around 1.8 million tons of CO2 in the campaign period were saved.

Potential for learning or transfer

The model is limited to 3 months, but it offers the chance to make public transport attractive in the long term by allowing new customers to test and try it out. Other regions in Europe have also experienced heavy losses in public transport due to the corona pandemic and are under pressure from rising energy costs. In addition, such a model shows the real potential of public transport, which cannot be achieved due to high costs or insufficient quotas. In this way, increasing investment in public transport can be achieved in the long term. It makes sense to accompany the project scientifically, as Deutsche Bahn will do. In this way, important information about mobility behaviour and inhibition thresholds of public transport can be collected and measures can be taken. The 9-Euro-Ticket, but also a free variant, can make up for the losses, trough the corona pandemic and thus contribute to a long-term strengthening of sustainable mobility.